Nine new, exciting startups in Ireland's sunny South East recently began the first ever NDRC at ArcLabs accelerator programme, supported by Enterprise Ireland. The programme is the second regional accelerator undertaken by NDRC, following the successful delivery of NDRC at PorterShed, in Galway, last year.

Once a company joins NDRC, the team works intensively with each, over a short time frame, to help them understand what value their company can offer customers, their strategy for growth and getting them ready to meet the demands of both investors and customers. The short time span and the intensity of this commercialisation work is the acceleration process. It is this offering of capital investment and development support that makes NDRC effective.

Ben Hurley, NDRC CEO, said: "It is wonderful to welcome such exciting new businesses into NDRC's portfolio. With the help of our regional partners,

The fallout from the Cervical Check debacle, will I have absolutely no doubt, rumble on for many a week to come. There now appears to be revelation after revelation, that all is not well in the higher echelons of Government’s many broken departments.

Our HSE, is spending more time and money looking after itself. Rather than the very people it was set up to protect. Does it really surprise anyone, we are once again being told, that more and more of tax payers’ money is being completely and utterly wasted? No! It has been going on for what seems like millennia. Our representatives in power, can do little or nothing to affect positive change. In fact, successively elected TDs to the Dail, have tried to take on Government Departments, only to fall

Warren Buffett’s annual shareholder letter is probably the most widely read dispatch in the business world. His insights, expressed with his trademark clarity and humour, are a bounty for investors.

In December 2007, Buffett made a 10-year bet with hedge fund firm Protégé Partners. Each would choose an investment for a 10-year period and the each would pay $500,000, a total of $1m to the winner’s chosen charity.

Buffett picked a low cost investment in an unmanaged S&P 500 index fund. Protégé Partners picked five "fund-of-funds" which in turn owned interests in more than 200 hedge funds.

In December 2007, the housing crisis in the US had already started and the early signs of stress in the banking sector had begun to appear. The run on Northern Rock in the UK occurred in September.

In Dublin, the increase in rents in the year to March 2018 was 12.8% and rents in the capital are now 30%, or €430 a month, higher than their previous peak a decade ago. Rents continue to rise rapidly in other cities also. In Limerick city, rents were 17.1% higher than a year ago, while in Waterford, the increase was 14.6%. Galway saw its rents increase by 13.6% in the same period, while in Cork, rents rose by 9.3%. Outside the five main cities, rents rose by an average of 10.1%.

There were 3,086 properties available to rent nationwide in April. This is the lowest number ever recorded for this time of year since the series started in 2006, and the figure marks a 17% decrease on the same date a year previously. In Dublin, there were just 1,265 homes available

The Irish Property Owners Association is very concerned that constant legislative interference and penal Tax Treatment is damaging the private rental sector. The Daft Report again reflects the increasing shortage of available accommodation and the increasing cost of renting. "When will the State listen?" asked Stephen Faughnan, Chairman "The Daft Report does not reflect the rents payable for existing tenancies, which may be 50% less, and are constrained by Rent Pressure Zone Legislation of 4% max. which not alone dwarfs the income but also dwarfs the capital value of a property". Addressing IPOA members, Chairman Stephen Faughnan drew a stark comparison between what rent is payable to a private landlord and what is left as profit at the end of the day. "Every euro of rent received by landlords is significantly reduced by a variety of taxes, levies, charges and

"Off with her head!” "Off with her head!” is of course a line from that wonderful book "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, published in 1865. Written by the English author Charles Dodgson or to give him his more recognisable name, Lewis Carroll. A book that’s been read to millions of children at bedtime and no doubt still is. Enjoyed by every single parent, making each characters come to life, as they were finally getting the kids off to sleep. A darker commentary of literary nonsense, which some say still has relevance in today’s society.

Boy oh boy, we could do with The Queen of Hearts right now. With all the balderdash surrounding the debacle that is Cervical Check, will we actually see any heads rolling? The usual stock position of Government and Senior Department Officials is to blame

Waterford Castle received five awards at the 2018 Irish Hotel Awards held on Tuesday, April 24th, at The Heritage Killenard. These awards were: 4 Star Hotel of the Year 2018 Castle Hotel of the Year 2018 Fine Dining Hotel of the Year 2018 Luxury Hotel of the Year 2018 Irish Hotel of the Year 2018

"Tonight is all about celebration, it’s about recognition of excellence. Recognition of the unwavering commitment of the hospitality industry in Ireland to providing outstanding guest experiences for visitors to our island. What we experience on every trip, are people who are going the extra mile to offer true Irish hospitality – not only promoting their own hotel and area, but also selling ‘Ireland’ as the world class destination that it

I haven’t morphed into Billy Connolly, Ronnie Corbett or Kevin Bridges. I’ve no intention of trying to make a living telling jokes. Unfortunately, I can’t ever remember the punchlines, of the many great ones I have been told, over the past countless years. If I had that capacity of retention, this would give me some semblance of a chance, to actually be allowed to play the "Joker" at parties, every now and again.

I do manage to learn, by rote, the odd one or two. Alas, if you are in my company, you may very well have heard my two favourites, a dozen or so times over. A wee man goes into a baker’s shop, on Sauchiehall Street (Glasgow). He asks the baker, "How much is yon cake?" "£1" is the reply. The

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The Government wants us to vote "yes" in the abortion referendum in order to delete unborn children's right to life and allow abortion on demand in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion campaigners claim that there is no human being yet alive by this point. That's why they think abortion on demand is permissible.They are completely wrong. By 12 weeks the baby in the womb has a beating heart, can swallow and yawn, can kick, stretch and jump, has arms, legs, fingers and toes, has fingernails and hair, h …